Sometimes, when you least expect it, wonderful things happen. In 2005, at a national conference, a colleague and I (Wendy) were preparing to leave our session when a large crowd rapidly began filling the room. As it was clear that the crowd knew something we didn’t—and since the influx was so massive it seemed impossible to exit the room!—we reclaimed our seats and stayed for the following session. Over the next hour we listened to stories about the impact of Brazelton Touchpoints on teachers and home visitors, as well as families and young children. Our experience was the first step in the establishment of a network of Touchpoints teams in Colorado.

We had heard early childhood professionals in Colorado express frustration about forming partnerships with families and about embracing the role those partnerships play in quality early care and education. Underlying this frustration was great uncertainty about how to form meaningful relationships with families. At the same time, professionals in early care and education, physical and mental health, and family support were struggling to unite their efforts to a cohesive system of supports… continue reading

About the Authors

Wendy Watson, MA, is the founder of Watson Consulting, specializing in leadership, early childhood development, and teaching adults. her 25-plus years of experience include work with Head Start, child care, home visitation, and early childhood system initiatives.

Jo Koehn, MSW, is the director of the Expanding Quality in Infant/Toddler Care Initiative at the Colorado Department of Education. Her work focuses on improving the lives of infants and toddlers and of those who care for them.

Lisa Desrochers, MEd, is the program director of special initiatives at the Brazelton Touchpoints Center® at Boston Children's Hospital. Lisa has extensive experience in the early childhood field, and she works at Touchpoints in a number of capacities, including project manager, trainer, and content consultant.

Related Resources

Quality child development programs for infants and toddlers tailor their care to meet the particular characteristics and developmental needs of this age group. This collection of engaging articles from NAEYC's journal Young Children provides relevant and current information for anyone who works with or in support of infants and toddlers and their families. Authors offer practical, research-based strategies and observations of these very young children in action. The book includes study guides with many of the articles, as well as a comprehensive resource list.